I'll admit that when the alarm went off at 6.20am this morning, I was a little reluctant to get out of bed! Still, we knew M's friends would be waiting for us, so I made us coffee in our travel mugs (with pepper in for me - the ultimate winter treat) and we wrapped up warm. M took the porsche out of his warm little garage and we drove round the corner to meet D and C, and JD and L. The other two couples had brand new Minis to play in - one belonging to C and one borrowed by JD from the dealership where he works. We made a good convoy: 3 sparkling cars - two from 2012 and mine and M's from 1988!

The roads were frosty and a little slidey, so we made our way cautiously to Braemar, enjoying the gorgeous scenery and a beautiful sunrise coming up behind us. We stopped briefly in Banchory for petrol and sweeties and since the sun was just about up, M and I put the top down on the car, wrapped up with extra scarves and gloves and drove the rest of the way with the cold morning air blasting in our faces.

When we reached Braemar, we had breakfast at a hotel that rivalled Fawlty Towers, but with better food - or perhaps that was just because we were starving. After some coffee and bacon, we finished our drive at Glenshee Ski Centre, which already had a dusting of snow. I took a few photos in the car park and might pop them up on my Blipfolio for the petrolheads. My Blip for today is M's pride and joy, the 1988 Porsche.

Although the sun was up, patches of the road were still icy, so on our way back down we alternated between blasting along in the sun and picking our way along the shadows - very fun. We took a longer route home via the coast road to Laurencekirk, stopping anywhere with a good view. We cut across to Stonehaven and then up the country roads back - at which point I fell asleep. In a convertible. With the top down. In November. At 70 mph. Honestly - I could fall asleep on a washingline.

The bonus of the early morning was that we got home at 1.00pm feeling like it should have been teatime - it seemed an extra-long weekend. After some beetroot and butternut squash soup (very purple), M washed all the salt and dirt off the car while I baked cakes for the coffee morning we're hosting at the house tomorrow. I was quite pleased with my efforts; will have to Blip them tomorrow!

After a shower and a quick change, it was time for JD and L to pick us up and take us back to D and C's house for drinks. Unfortunately I had far too much wine on a nearly-empty stomach, and although we had a lovely time at the house, I made rather an idiot of myself on the way home and ended up arguing with poor M, who hadn't done anything wrong at all. We sorted it out before bed - he is so calm and kind to me when I'm being a cow - but I absolutely deserved the hangover (and massive amount of guilt) I woke up with in the morning.